Feeding mechanism for sewing machines



Jan. 28, 1936. v H. J. LE VESCONTE 2,029,241

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES I F'iledSept. 21, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 28 19 H. J. LE VESCONTE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWINGMACHINES Filed Sept. 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W m F a. x h

WY M Nm M www Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT orr cs HaroldJ. Le Vesconte, Western Springs, m, as-

Signor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application September 21, 1933, Serial No. 690,487

8 Claims. 1(01. 112-18) The invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in a feeding mechanism for sewing machines, and inparticular to a feeding mechanism which is adapted to be used inconnection with a cup feed type of sewing machine.

An object of. the invention is to provide a feeding mechanism havingcooperating rotating members geared together for rotation, with a meansoperating through one of said members for imparting feeding movementsthereto, and a means operating through the other memberfor prevent-'-ing retrograde movements'in the feed members during the formation of thestitch.

A further object of the invention isto provide a feeding mechanism of ithe above type wherein the feeding members are disposed at the lower endof. vertically arrangedsupporting shafts and operate to support and feedthe fabric being stitched, while the operating means and the retardingmeans for the feeding members are disposed at the upper ends of theshaft.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a. feedingmechanism of the above type wherein the operating means and theretarding means are each in the form of aclutch drum open ing upwardlywith the clutch p'artshoused within said drum.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view in plan with parts broken away .30 toshow the inner structure;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the machine showing only thefeeding mechanism for operating the feed wheels of. a cup feedmachine,and

Fig. 3 is a detail in sideelevation showing the,

universal connection for driving one of the feed cups, the parts beingseparated to 'show their structure. 1

Theinvention is directedto a'feeding mechanism for sewing machines whichincludes rotating feed wheels between which the fabric tobe stitched isgripped. In the present illustrated embodiment of the invention, thesefeed wheels" are the feed cups of a cup feedtype of machine.

The invention, however, inits broadest aspect, "may be embodied in othertypes of machines,

One ofsaid feed wheels is fixed to a shaft, which shaft isintermittently rotated by aclutch drum connected thereto and anintermittently operatmg clutch dog which engages the drum and-gives thedesired increments of movementthereto. The other feed wheel is connectedto a shaft on which is mounted a clutch drum with which a clutch dogcooperates for preventing retrogrademovements in the feed wheels duringthe stitch formation.

The two shafts are geared together so that movements imparted, to onewill beimparted to the other, and restrained movements applied to onewill be likewise applied to the other.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the 5 invention is shown asapplied to a cup" feed type of machine which includes a framework orhousing I in which is mounted a main actuating shaft 2. Extendinglaterally from said housing is an overhanging projecting bracket 3preferably 10 formed integral with the housing I Mounted in saidprojecting housing is a sleeve hearing or bushing 4 which extends somedistance beneath said projecting housing. Mounted in this sleeve bearingis ashaft 5, to the lower end of which is 5 fixed afeed cup 6. Said feedcup Gisprovided with a projecting hub I on its lower face, whichhublsjournaled in a bracket Sattached toithe' main housing I. Thisbracket notonly steadles the shaft 5. but also supports the feed cup 6.The 20 feed cup is fixed to theshaft 5 by a set screw 9 which may bereached through an opening ill in the bracket. Fixed to the upper end ofthe shaft 5 is a drum which includes .a hub portion l I, a radiallyprojecting'portion l2, and a ciroumferen 25 tial flange I3 whichprojects from the radial portion l2. This drum is secured to the shaft 5by set screws, one of. which is indicated at H. Located within this'drum are clutch members, which as shown, are in the form f rollers l5,I5, 30 I5. Freely mounted on the 'sha t is a block I6 havingeccentr'icfaces J1 with which the rollers i 5 contact. There is'a spring[8 associated with each roller. The block I6 is attached to a 'plate l9byscrews 20, 20. Fixed to the upperend of 35 the shaft 5 is a cap 2|which bears on the plate l9 and holds said plate and block IS inposition.

in the clutch drum. This drum and clutch mechtion, but is similar tothat shown in the patent granted Long and Sliwa, November 20, 1928, No.1,692,130. i

The plate I 9 is provided with an arm 22, which arm carries a ball studand a link 23 is attached 45 to said ballstud. The link 23 at its otherend is connected to a-ball mounted on a stud 24 which is adjustablyattached to the arm 25 carriedby a sleeve 26. This sleeve 26 is mountedfor oscillation on a shaft 21. Said sleeve carries 50 a separateprojecting arm 28 to which an eccentric strap 29 is attached, and the.eccentric strap 29 cooperates with an eccentric 30 on the main actuatingshaft 2. When the main actuating shaft is rotated, it will impartoscillations to 55 the plate l9, and as said plate is moved in onedirection, the rollers l5 will be caused to roll outward on theeccentric surfaces I! until said rollers grip the clutch drum and then ashort angular movement will beimparted to the clutch drum and throughthe clutch drum to the feed wheel 6.

Cooperating with the feed wheel 6 is a feed wheel 3| The feed wheel 3|is provided with a hub' 32 on its outer face, and said feed wheel andhub are attached to a shaft 33 by a set screw 34. The shaft 33 ismounted in a bearing sleeve or bushing 35 which is clamped to a brackn,et arm 36. This bracket arm 36 is in turn fixed to a shaft 31 which ismounted in the projecting housing 3. A spring ,38 bearing on aprojecting lug 39 carried by thebracket and against an abutment on theprojecting housing 3 normallytends to move the two feed wheels or feedcups into contact so that the fabric to be stitched will beclampedbetween said feed cups and presented tothe stitching mechanism.These feed cupsoperate in the usual manner for supporting the fabric andintermittently presenting the same to the needle, remaining stationarywhile the needle penetrates the fabric and the stitch formation is made,after which said feed cups are given the desired ahgular'rotation forpresenting the fabri'cfor the next stitch formation.

,The shaft 33 carrying the outer feed cup is positively driven from ashaft 40 which is mounted in a bushing 4| carried in the projectinghousing 3. The shaft section 40 is connected to the shaftse'ction 33through a universal connection. Fixed to the shaft section 33 isflalaterally projecting head 42 having two diametrically opposed'radialslots 43 Attached to the lower end are adapted to engage the, radialslots 45 in the coupling head 44. The central member of this couplingisoifset at diametrically opposite points soas to provide projectingshoulders 5| at one side 'of the coupling ,inember and projectingshoulders 52 arranged intermediate the firstn'amedshoul'ders and locatedat the other side of the coupling member. The shoulders 5| may makecontact with the outer face of the coupling head 43, while the shoulders52 may make contact with the inner face of the coupling head 44. Thelugs 49 and 56 are on the oppositeside of the coupling from theshoulders 5| while the lugs 41 "and 48 are on the opposite' side of thecouplingfrom the shoulders 52. -Through this universal connectionbetween the two shaft sections, the shaft section 33 is permittedto moveabout the axis of shaft 31 toward and away from the'shaft 5 inorder topermit relative movement of one feed cuptoward and" away from the otherfeed cup, and at the Sametime, the shaft section 33 is positivelyrotated with the shaft 45 or'held from movement when saidshaft 46 is restrained from movement.-

Fixed to the shaft 40 is a clutch drum 53. This clutch drum 53 includesa hub 54 and a radially projecting member 'anda circumferential flange55 similar to the clutch drum which I is attached to the shaft 5.Located W thin the This coupling member clutch drum carried by the shaft40 are rollers 56, 56, 56. These rollers are adapted to contact .thatthe plate 59 and the block 51 connected thereto are held from anyrotating movement on the shaft 46. When the clutch rollers are out ofgripping contact with the clutch drum, then the shaft 40 is free to berotated. This occurs when the shaft is rotated in one direction. When,however, the shaft tends to rotate in the opposite direction, therollers will at once grip the clutch drum and prevent any such rotation.The purpose of this clutch drum is to permit the shaft 40 to rotate in'one direction and-positively restrain said shaft from any movementin theopposite direction. The flange l3 of the clutch drum attached to theshaft 5 is provided with a gear 64, and this gear meshes with a gearsimilarly formed on the circumferential portion 55 of the clutch drumwhich is fixed to the shaft-46. Whenthe clutch drum attached to theshaft '5 has an angular rotating movement imparted thereto, a similarrotating angular movement will be imparted to the shaft 49, but, ofcourse, in the opposite direction. v This imparts rotation. to' the feedwheels Band 3! so thatfabric gripped therebetween will be fed and thefabric positioned for the next needle penetration. When the clutchrollers moved in theopposite direction, they will be released from theclutch drum l3and said rollers moved back on the surface of the clutchdrum for anew gripping hold. At this time theclutch rollers 56grippingthe clutch drumattached tothe shaft 40 will prevent anyretrograde movement in either shaft and thus any retrograde movement ineither feed wheel. I

By mounting the clutch drums at the upper ends of the shafts and byputting one on one shaft and the other on the other,jcups are providedwhich face upwardly circumferential and which canbe. .1

[5 are readily supplied with lubricating oil. These cups will retain theoil, so that theoperating parts are practically, flooded with oil. By.removing the the clutch drum which gives movement to the shafts or theclutch drumwhich restrains movements thereof, are readily accessible.

The supporting bracket 36 carrying the outer feed cup can be shifted soas to separate the feed cups by means of a lever' 66. Thisxlever 66 isattached to a sleeve 61freely mounted on the shaft 31 and havinga lug 68engaging between shoulders formed in a sleeve the shaft 31.

feed cups forms but is shown, decribed and claimed in the appli-' Thismanner of separating the cup feed typeof machine, it will be understoodthat from certain aspects, the rotary feeding.

mechanism 'may'be used in any type of machine where it is desirable toimpart .a feeding movewhich is fixed to.

no part of the present invention,

cation of. Oscar Quist, filed November 30, 1932,

cover plate from the machine, the parts of either ment to a fabricthrough'the aidof two cooperata ing feed rollers, or wheels.'I'heessential feature tion, a shaft mounted therein for rotation aboutconsists in the mountingbf the actuating clutch drum on the shaft of oneof said feed-wheels and the retarding or restraining clutch drum on theshaft which operates the other feed wheel. It will also be understoodthat the operating clutch drum may be attached to the outer feed shaftand the restraining clutch drum attached to the inner feed shaft, ifdesired. It is also obvious that changes in the details of constructionand the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention: what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters- Patent, is-

1. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including cooperatingrotating feed wheels, feed shafts for -imparting movements to said feedwheels, means whereby rotations imparted to one shaft are positivelyimparted to the other, an actuatingclutch mechanism attached to one ofsaid shafts for imparting feeding movements to said shafts, and arestraining clutch'mechanism attached to the other shaft for preventingretrograde movements in either shaft.

2. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including cooperatingrotating feed wheels, feed shafts for imparting movements to said feedwheels, means whereby rotations imparted to one shaft are positivelyimparted to the other, an actuating clutch mechanism attached to one ofsaid'shafts for imparting feeding movements to said shafts, and arestraining clutch mechanism attached to the other shaft for preventingretrograde movements in either shaft, one of said shafts for operatingthe feed wheels being formed in sections with a universal connectionbetween said sections whereby to permit relative movement of said feedwheels toward and away from each other. i

3. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines comprising a housing having aprojecting pora vertical axis, a feed cup mounted at the lower and ofsaid shaft, a second shaft mounted in said projecting portion of thehousing and carrying at its lower end a feed cup, said last-named shaftbeing formed in sections with a universal connection therebetween, anactuating clutch drum disposed at the upper end of one shaft forimparting rotations thereto, a restraining clutch drum disposed at theupper end of the other shaft for restraining said last-named shaft fromretrograde movement, and means for positively connecting said shaftswherebythe actuating clutch drum imparts rotations to both shafts andthe restraining clutch drum prevents both shafts from retrogrademovement.

4. A feefing mechanism for sewing machines comprising a housing having aprojecting portion, a shaft mounted therein for rotation about a'vertical axis, a feed cup mounted at the lower end of said shaft, asecond shaft mounted in said projecting-portion of the housing andcarrying at its lower end a feed cup, said last-named shaft beingformedin sections'with a universal con-- lecting portion and acircumferential flange, clutching members located within said lasttion,a shaft mounted therein for rotation about a vertical axis, a feed cupmounted at the lower end of said shaft, a second shaft mounted in saidprojecting portion of the housing and carrying at its lower end a feedcup, said lastnamed shaft being formed in sections with a universalconnection therebetween, a clutch drum fixed to the upper end of one ofsaid shafts andhaving a radially projecting member and a circumferentialflange, a block having eccentric faces freely mounted on the shaft andlocated within said flange, rollers between the block and the flange forgripping the same, a spring associated with each roller, and a capattached to said shaft 5 for, holding said block in said drum.

6. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines comprising a housing having aprojecting portion, a shaft mounted therein for rotation about avertical axis, a feed cup mounted at the lower end of said shaft, asecond shaft mounted in said projecting portion of the housing andcarrying at its lower end a feed cup, said lastnamed shaft being formedin sections with a universal connection therebetween, a clutch drumfixed to the upper end of 'one of said shafts and having a radiallyprojecting member; and a cir-- cumferential flange, a block havingeccentric faces freely mounted on the shaft and located within saidflange, rollers between the block and the flange for gripping the same,a spring associated with each roller, a cap attached to said shaft forholding said block in said drum, and means for imparting oscillations tosaid block.

7. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines comprising a housing having aprojecting portion, a shaft mounted therein for rotation about avertical axis, a feed cup mounted at the lower end of said shaft, asecond shaft mounted in said projecting portion of the housing andcarrying at its lower end a feed cup, said last-named shaft,being'formed in sections with a universal conneotion therebetween, aclutch drum flxed to the upper end of one of said shafts and having aradially projecting member and a circumferential flange, a block havingeccentric faces freely mounted on the shaft and located within saidflange, rollers between the block and the flange for gripping the same,a spring associated with each roller, a cap attached to saidshaftforholding said block in said drum, a similar clutch drum, clutch block androllers connected to the other shaft, and means operated through one ofsaid blocks for imparting intermittent rotations to one shaftand throughthe other block for preventing retrograde movement of the shaft withwhich it is associated, and gears connecting said shafts.

8. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines comprising, in combination, ahousing having a projecting member, shafts mounted in said projectingmember for rotation about vertical axes, feed cups secured to saidshafts and operated directly thereby, a bracket mounted on said housingand engaging the lower end of one of said shafts beneath the feed cupthereon whereby to steady said shaft, and means located entirely abovesaid bracket for imparting intermittent feeding movements to said shaft.

